Cambridge, MA - The Iona College men's water polo team entered the Northern Division
Championships this past weekend as the number five seed. In their
first game, they faced the number four seed MIT and took a 9-8
victory. With the victory, the Gaels (11-14) advanced to the East
Coast Championship for the fourth time in 14 years.
In the first game victory, the Gaels never trailed leading 2-0 after the first quarter and 4-2 at halftime. Senior Captain Mark Rich scored his only goal of the weekend with under two minutes to play to put
the Gaels up for good at 9-8. Two key saves down the stretch by freshman goalie Eric Konzem sealed the victory over MIT, who previously beat the
Gaels 14-9 in the same pool just three weeks ago. Konzem finished with 14 saves and four steals.
Junior Patrick St. Cin lead the Maroon and Gold with three goals and added an assist and a block. Junior Nick Velasquez had two goals and two steals while classmate Ed Gronkowski had two goals, four steal and block. Sophomore Joe Przekota had a goal, a steal and drew a kickout.
In the next round, the Gaels faced another opponent they had previously faced in Saint Francis (NY). The Terriers defeated the Gaels at Hynes Pool 17-11 earlier this year. This game was no different as Iona fell 18-5 in the semi-finals. Velasquez led the Gaels with three goals and added a steal and a kickout drawn. St. Cin had two two goals, two steals, and a kickout drawn. Konzem had five saves in the first half while freshman keeper Grant Keissling had 3 saves in the second half.
In the third-place game, Iona faced Harvard for the second time this year. The Crimson defeated the Gaels 12-9 in the first meeting of the season and took this game 7-5. Velasquez had two goals, an assist, three steals, and drew a penalty shot. Gronkowski added two goals, three steals, and a block while classmate John Kryminski picked up a goal. Sophomore Emre Erdogan drew two kickouts and had an assist. Keissling played a quarter and made four saves and Konzem played three quarters and made 8 saves.
With a top-four finish, the Gaels advance to the Eastern Championships. Iona is the eighth seed and will face the number one seed US Naval Academy on Friday, November 16 at 11 am.
